** OVERVIEW: eBay Inc. at Mobile World Congress
** eBay and PayPal announce new partnerships at Mobile World Congress
** eBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe keynotes Mobile World Congress 2012; video interview with the Wall Street Journal

Cheers,
RBH

I’ve been uploading photos from the conference:

Live coverage of the event:
Although I’m not with the team in Barcelona this week, I have been covering remotely here on the blog and you can follow all the eBay Inc. focused coverage coming out of the event, live on Twitter:
@PayPal
@eBayMobile
@RedLaserApp
#MWC12

Cheers,
RBH

“In 2012, we expect @eBayMobile volume to grow to $8 billion.” #eBayQ411 dcl.sr/Yt

— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012

“We expect @PayPal’s mobile growth to continue, with mobile volume in 2012 estimated to hit $7 billion.” #eBAyQ411 dcl.sr/Yl

— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012

The biggest mobile event of the year – Mobile World Congress – is almost upon us, running from February 27 – March 1, 2012, and eBay has a full agenda lined up. In addition to showcasing innovation around mobile payments and commerce from all parts of eBay Inc. (booth #7D90 / Hall 7), we have a number of speaking events happening as well.

John Donahoe, CEO of eBay Inc.: Keynote Panel
John will be participating in a keynote session, titled “The Connected Consumer,” discussing how stakeholders across the mobile ecosystem can work together to deliver the services, which will match the technological innovations we are seeing in the consumer electronics space today.
Date and Time: Monday, February 27 at 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. CET
Location: Hall 5 – Auditorium 1

You can see all the eBay Inc. activity at MWC 2012 by checking out The PayPal Blog.

Live coverage of the event:
Although I will not be joining the team in Barcelona next week, I will be covering remotely here on the blog and you can follow all the eBay Inc. focused coverage coming out of the event, live on Twitter:
@PayPal
@eBayMobile
@RedLaserApp
#MWC12

I’ll also be linking back to wrap-up posts throughout the week.

Cheers!
RBH

Documented@Davos: John Donahoe, eBay from Michelle Laird on Vimeo.

You can also read a full breakdown of John Donahoe’s panel: Digital Norms

Cheers,
RBH

More information:
Videos : World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012
The Global Agenda 2012 – Annual Meeting 2012

About the World Economic Forum (WEF)
The WEF is a Swiss non-profit foundation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The purpose of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is to ensure that leaders exercise their responsibilities – jointly, boldly and strategically – to improve the state of the world for future generations.

eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe spoke at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, Germany on Jan. 24, noting that lines between online and offline commerce are blurring “at a stunningly fast rate.” For half of retail transactions last year, he said, consumers accessed the web at some point during the shopping experience.

As VentureBeat reported, John predicted more rapid changes in consumer behavior going forward. “I believe that you’re going to see more change in how consumers shop and pay in the next three years than we’ve seen in the last 20 years,” he said. “We’re providing mobile capabilities that consumers are grabbing, but the consumer is in charge here.”

VentureBeat added: “Donahoe talked extensively about eBay’s role as a friend to the retailer — criticizing Amazon’s competitive approach without specifically naming the company — and how through the acquisitions of GSI, RedLaser, and Milo, along with payments solution PayPal, eBay has transformed itself from an auction site to an open commerce platform (X.commerce).”

“We’re enablers,” John said. “The real winners are going to be retailers … the retailers that adopt a multichannel shopping experience.”

The Next Web took note of John’s comments on social commerce and its evolution. “Our platform connects into Facebook’s platform in a very compelling way, and I’d like it to plug in to Google+’s platform too,” he said. “Innovation and social commerce won’t be a big winner-takes-all killer app. It’s going to be a lot of innovative experiments, some of which will really take off.”

On the topic of innovation, The Wall Street Journal reported on John’s comments on eBay’s interest in pioneering start-up companies. “Those are the kinds of companies we are interested in talking to and if you are out there, we’d love to talk.”

Cheers,
RBH

[Images via Hubert Burda Media/Flickr]
[Story originally appeared on eBay's Intranet site The Hub]

eBay Inc. CEO, John Donahoe, talked about the new PayPal mobile payment tests being run at 51 Home Depot stores starting this week during eBay’s quarterly earnings call this afternoon. He went one better too. He actually visited a store this morning to try out the technology first-hand.

“This week @PayPal will be launching a pilot to 51 @HomeDepot stores…” #eBayQ411

— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012

Leaving his wallet and his mobile phone in his car, he tried the first-hand integration this morning at a San Jose Home Depot. By entering his mobile phone number and PIN, he was able to pay for a hammer in a matter of seconds. The receipt was emailed to him.

“…@PayPal customers will be able to pay for purchases in these @HomeDepot stores by swiping their PayPal card…”

— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012

The system works in two ways:
1. Using an in-store terminal, shoppers can buy items by punching in a phone number and PIN linked to their PayPal account
2. Pay using a plastic card issued by PayPal that works like a credit card

“…or entering their mobile phone number/PIN. No wallet or specific type of smartphone is required.” #eBayQ411 $eBay

— Richard Brewer-Hay (@ebayinkblog) January 18, 2012

Here’s an example of a text receipt sent to a mobile phone after purchase:

I think I may head over to Home Depot on Friday to try this out for myself.

Cheers!
RBH

Follow @ebayinkblog and see the eBay-related discussions coming out of CES this week using #eBayatCES hashtag. You can do the same for conversations coming out of NRF 2012 using #eBayatNRF.
Cheers,
RBH

Over the course of the next few days, I’ll be live-tweeting from CES – @ebayinkblog – using the hashtags #CES2012 / #eBayatCES. I’m hoping to capture some video content for you all, including a sit-down with John Donahoe to talk about all that we’re working on for 2012 – not only in the eBay Marketplace but for eBay Inc. overall.

eBay Ink at CES 2012:

Tuesday, January 10
Panel Session: Mobile Payment Basics: How the Technology Works
David Marcus, VP/GM of Mobile for PayPal (Founder & CEO of Zong)
10:00 – 11:00 AM
LVCC, North Hall
Overview: A wireless ecosystem promises to turn your phone into a credit card. How prevalent is this new pay-as-you-go infrastructure, and what opportunities and obstacles exist for retailers seeking to offer a mobile payment option? Learn more about the technologies, including near-field communications, driving the implementation of mobile payment.

Panel Session: Planet of the Apps
Steve Yankovich, VP of eBay Mobile
2:30 – 3:30 PM
LVCC, North Hall
Overview: The proliferation of apps has created exciting new opportunities and challenges. How can you integrate the hottest thing in mobile into your existing offerings? App developers share success stories, explore the pros and cons of free versus paid models, and reveal the secrets behind a viable and profitable app strategy.

Wednesday, January 11
Panel: How to build a strong community of customers and evangelists
Marsha Collier, eBay Ink Social Media Seller
3:20 – 3:50pm
OnStar Tweet House
Overview: Technology is easy, people are hard. Very few companies have the know-how to attract and grow a community of evangelists around their products. Top community managers will share their experiences and strategies for building a following of engaged fans.

CEA Leaders in Technology Dinner
John Donahoe keynote
6:30pm Reception, 7:30pm Dinner
Wynn Hotel, Lafitte Ballroom

Thursday, January 12
GSI Marketing Innovation Summit
John Donahoe keynote
10:30am – 11:30am
Cosmopolitan Hotel

Las Vegas eBay / Amazon eCommerce Online Seller Meet-up
Danni Ackerman, eBay Ink Social Media Seller
Outright.com guest speaking
6:30 – 9:30pm
Sunset Station Casino
Overview: Did you know that Paypal is going to be sending 1099k forms to certain eBay sellers this year? Do you know what a 1099k form is? New tax laws this year are affecting online sellers. If you’re not careful, you could be seeing an increase in what you have to pay out. But, it doesn’t have to be that way! Come learn about these changes and get tips for getting your taxes prepared with as little hassle as possible. Laura from Outright will be presenting what you need to know about how to get your taxes done. This session is intended for eBay and online sellers who want the basics without all the jargon – it’s not intended for advanced tax professionals.

Look for all our coverage of eBay at CES 2012:
http://ebayinkblog.com
@ebayinkblog
http://youtube.com/ebayink
http://flickr.com/ebayink
#eBayatCES
#CES2012

You can also check out my recap of everything that came out of last year’s eBay at CES 2011.
Cheers!
RBH

Here’s an excerpt from a note to all PayPal employees sent by eBay Inc. CEO, John Donahoe, this morning:

As you may already have seen, Yahoo! announced this morning that Scott Thompson is joining the company as CEO, effective immediately. Scott informed me Tuesday afternoon, saying that despite his passion for PayPal, this was an opportunity he felt he had to take. I know I speak for everyone in wishing Scott the best.

I will serve in the interim role as President and will be meeting with the PayPal leadership team this morning to plan a seamless transition. And while I’m sure Scott’s decision is a shock to many of you, as it was to me, there is one thing I am certain of: PayPal has an enormous opportunity in front of it and we will not slow down. We will not miss a beat. And we will continue driving the incredible momentum that each of you has helped to create.

PayPal had an outstanding 2011 and a strong close to the fourth quarter. PayPal’s vision is clear. Our strategies are set and we have a strong, focused leadership team in place. And across PayPal, we have you — an incredibly talented team, committed to creating the future of money and changing how the world shops and pays.

Let’s do it, and take this special business to the next level in 2012 and beyond.

I join John in wishing Scott all the best.

I’ll update this blog post with any new developments as they happen.

Cheers,
RBH

The Leaders in Technology Dinner will take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 11, 2012, in the Lafite Ballroom at The Wynn. This invitation-only event honors the top technologists, entrepreneurs and policymakers instrumental in furthering technology innovation.

“John Donahoe is an innovative leader whose admirable drive and entrepreneurship has contributed to eBay’s global business success,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA. “We are thrilled to have John keynote the 2012 CES LIT dinner and look forward to hearing his vision for how technology is changing the future of global commerce.”

I attended my first CES in 1998 and it remains one of my favorite trade shows. I joined the RedLaser / eBay Mobile team there earlier this year:

Notes From The Road: eBay Ink at CES 2011
RedLaser Partner Video from CES 2011
Notes From The Road: eBay Ink at CES 2011 Part 2
Notes From The Road: eBay Ink at CES 2011 Part 3

In the meantime, check out the CEA blog and follow along on Twitter @intlCES.

Cheers!
RBH